A stimulating alternative to bumming around and playing video games, SRU
is a free, online, independent study robotics academy for prospective,
beginning, and experienced robotics enthusiasts. More than 1,400 middle
school, high school, and college students pre-registered for the academy
by mid-May, accepting early admission invitations online. Many are
competitors in BattleBots®,
FIRST®, the MATE
International ROV Competition, Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot
Contest, RoboCup®, or
BattleCry@WPI robotics contests.

Sponsored entirely by
SolidWorks
Corporation, the SRU went live on June 1st and includes all the
elements of a brick-and-mortar summer school –
including a vibrant community – without the
need to walk into a school building during summer vacation.

Interested students can request an invitation to the self-paced academy
by sending an e-mail to
Email Contact.

“Summer ‘camp’
can sharpen your game for serious competition that begins in the fall,”
said Ryan Koehler, a freshman mechanical engineering student at
Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. “Students around
the world learn from one another, engage in the robotics community, and
occasionally talk a little friendly smack.”

Students who enroll in SRU can learn the secrets of robot design,
assembly, configuration, and operation. They can write or read reviews
on the best parts, kits, and designs. They can share stories, pictures,
and multimedia documenting their triumphs and defeats –
and, of course, make predictions about the upcoming competitive season.

“SolidWorks Robotics University is a refuge
from an entirely unstructured summer vacation whether you’re
a robotics competitor, somebody who wants to learn SolidWorks, somebody
who likes robotics, or somebody who thinks they might like
robotics,” said Marie Planchard, director of
worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. “And
you just might pick up some new math or science along the way.”